Not Alone
by adventure prince
Summary: It's fathers day and Micro-Ice couldn't feel more depressed, when he goes to goes to train he finds someone who might just make him feel a better, Fluff, R&R


**A/N: I do not own Galactik Football**

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Micro-ice groaned as he stretched his arm out from under the covers of his bed and hit the snooze button on his clock, today was the day, Father's day…

He didn't hate the day, it just gave him a sense of melancholy and with good reason, Micro-Ice didn't have a father, he didn't even know who his father was, he didn't even know what he looked like.

The black haired boy would like nothing more then to stay in bed and sleep the day away but he knew his mom would never allow it, so with more effort then it should have taken Micro-Ice hauled himself out of bed and to the bathroom for a shower and to brush his teeth before returning to his room to get dressed and then make his way downstairs for breakfast.

"Mornin' honey" Mana-Ice smiled when she saw her son walk into the kitchen.

"Morning mom" Micro-Ice yawned as he took a seat at the table and began to eat the scrambled eggs that was laid in front of him.

It wasn't hard for Mana to pick up on Micro-Ice's depression as he slowly and sombrely picked at his food while he rested his cheek on his hand.

"Hey, I've been thinking, maybe we could rent a few movies to watch and whip up some of those super spicy drumsticks that you like so much?" Mana suggested.

Micro-Ice looked at his mother with a raised eyebrow. "Last time we had those you had to down an entire carton of milk"

"I have no idea what you're talking-" Micro-Ice cut her off.

"And even then your tongue was still numb for three days" He smirked.

"Okay I get! I get it!" Mana-ice laughed, causing her son to join in as well, it made him happy that his mother was trying to cheer him up and make him laugh but in the end he didn't want her to do this just for him, he knew that the mere thought of his father made her sad too.

"Seriously though, I already have plans for the day" The blue eyed boy smiled as he polished off his breakfast and hopped to his feet. "I'll see ya around mom"

"Be back before dark" Mana called as Micro-Ice went to the door, gave her a wave and headed out into the cold air.

As soon as he was sure that he was at a safe distance that his mom couldn't see him his smile fell. He hadn't lied when he said that he had plans but they weren't with his friends…

The other day they had all been talking about what they were going to do for Father's Day. Mei was taking her father to the fanciest restaurant on Akillian and had bought him a new suit just for the occasion, Tia had convinced her father to take the time off of work so that they could spend some quality time together, Ahito and his dad would be taking a nap together and the others had laughed when Thran had said that he would also join in on the 24 hour Siesta! Rocket had bought his father a rare and exotic flower to add to his collection of personal plants, Mark and his dad were going to a hover car race, Yuki was making her dad a cake even though her baking skills left a lot be desired… As for D'jok he would be spending the day getting to know his dad, it was true that the many years of being apart had left a large gap in their relationship but now they had a chance to fill it.

"Which is more then I can say for me and my dad" Micro-Ice muttered, sounding more bitter then he intended. He quickly shook his head, he shouldn't think like that! He was happy that his best friend and his dad had been reunited after all these years. Pushing his negative thoughts to the back of his head Micro-Ice picked up the pace as he trudged through the snow, stopped by the local store to buy something to eat for later and quickly flagged down a taxi and rode it silently to Aarch's training school.

Some good training might help him get his mind off of the depressing subject at hand. Aarch had given all the Snow Kids a key card to access the academy in case they ever wanted to get a little training in between practices. He trailed through the cold halls of the school, wincing as the lights flickered on and shone in his eyes. Once the place had warmed up a bit Micro-ice changed into his training uniform and activated the simulator.

He wasn't sure how long he was in there for but he thought that it was a good hour. Micro-Ice finally decided to take a break when his legs began to ache and he went to sit down on one of the benches. "Hey, lying room" He chuckled to himself as he decided to take advantage of the empty bench space and take a lie down with his arms supporting the back of his head and one leg over the other, he spent a little while looking up at the ceiling before he the relaxing position and warmth of the room caused him to drift off into a deep sleep.

"…Ice…Micro-Ice…Micro-Ice!" The black haired boy shot up his eyes snapping open to see none other than his coach looking down at him.

"A-Aarch? What are you doing here?" He asked, rubbing the blurriness of sleep from his eyes.

"I could ask you the same question" Aarch raised a brow in response to the boys question. "I'm pretty sure you have a perfectly good bed at home"

Micro-Ice gave a sheepish grin before turning his gaze downwards. "Sorry…" He said more apologetically then he should have.

Aarch exchanged his stern expression for a confused and concerned one, he hadn't meant to upset the boy but he hadn't chided him that harshly so he didn't know why he was taking it so hard. "Make some room" He said, lightly tapping the side of the strikers feet with the back of his hand. He immediately complied, giving Aarch enough room to sit down.

"So, what's wrong?" He asked, resting his hands on his knees.

"What makes you think that anything's wrong?" Micro-Ice asked, his eyes shooting back up.

"Micro-Ice I know you, you wouldn't get that depressed over a light scolding" Aarch said, leaving no room for lies or half-truths.

Micro-Ice stared at his coach for a moment, he found the mans softened expression to be somewhat comforting, like he could tell him anything. "Today is Father's Day" Was all he said. The white haired man frowned, he was well aware of Micro-Ice's family situation but didn't know of the full details since he never asked as it may have been too inappropriate to ask such a thing. "I'm happy for everyone else and I'm happy for D'jok for being able to find his dad but…" The youth let out a sad sigh and looked down again and this time he felt tears threaten to fall, he couldn't believe he just said those things to his coach! He didn't even tell D'jok or his mother about these things!

Just when he thought he was about to break down in a mess of tears he felt a large paw of a hand place itself on his head. He let out a soft gasp, his head snapping up to face the man who was now looking at him with such a warm and affectionate smile.

"Will you wait here for a second?" Aarch asked, his voice soft. A nod was the only response the younger male gave.

Aarch ruffled his hair a little before leaving the room, during which time Micro-Ice took the time to roughly wipe his tears with his sleeve. After a few minutes Aarch came back, this time he was wearing a training uniform.

"Alright, lets go" Aarch smiled, motioning for Micro-Ice to follow him back to the simulator, the perplexed Striker followed him and once again he was back on the training field.

"Try and get one past me" Aarch smirked as the ball materialized in front of them.

Micro-Ice raised a brow, he had no idea how their conversation had come to this but he felt like he wasn't being given much of a choice so he took the ball and headed for the goal with as much effort as he was willing to put in.

Aarch raised a brow, Micro-Ice could do WAY better than that, with a quick flurry of movements Aarch swiped the ball from the black haired boy and placed two blunt fingers on his forehead that seemed to pin him to the spot.

"What's the matter hotshot? Finally burned out?" Aarch smirked.

"Excuse me?" Micro-Ice asked, he could feel his left eye twitching.

"Don't worry Micro-Ice, a lot of athletes lose their flow when-" Aarch's teasing was cut short when Micro-Ice suddenly rushed past him and took the ball with him, looked like he had reignited the boys passion, mission accomplished! 

For the next few minutes the field was filled with enthusiastic shouting and cheeky taunting as the two faced off! Micro-Ice managed to get a few passed Aarch but he had a feeling that he let him.

"N-Not bad" Aarch said in between pants, the man wasn't the athlete he use to be and the effects were starting to show as he needed to take a quick sit down.

"You okay Aarch?" Micro-Ice asked, taking a seat next to the white haired man and pressed the soles of his feet together and clasped his hands around his ankles.

"I'm fine" Aarch smiled, waving off his concerns. "I'm still as spry as I ever was"

Micro-Ice chuckled softly and gave the older a male a grateful smile. "Thanks Aarch, I really needed that"

"I'm happy to have helped" Aarch smiled, his breathing had finally settled.

For a moment they sat in complete silence, just staring at the blue space of the training field.

"What was your father like?" Aarch blinked at the unexpected question and turned his head to look at the black haired boy who at this point was lying on the floor with his arms folded behind his head.

"Well…" Aarch began, deciding to indulge the boys curiosity. "…he was a strict man but fair, he never let me and Norata get away with any mischief but he was also compassionate to comfort us and never let anyone mess with us…" Aarch paused and scrunched up his lips at one aspect of his father that left a sour taste in his mouth "…the only thing we never got along about was football, he was dead set against us becoming footballers"

Another brief moment of silence followed.

"Sometimes I try to think of what kind of man my dad is or was" Micro-Ice said, his eyes still focussed on the blue space above. "A footballer like me? A spy? A super hero?" Micro-Ice let out a hollow and barely audible chuckle at the preposterous thought of it all. "I always tried to ask my mom what he was like but she would always find a way to change the subject, I kept asking over and over again but eventually I caught onto how much I hurt her when I brought it up so I just stopped asking all together" There was a brief paused as Micro-Ice sucked in a breath. "Soon after that I began to wonder why he left…was it just one of those things where there relationship didn't work out? Was he in trouble and had to skip town? Or…" Micro-Ice turned his head and Aarch's eyes widened when he saw tears form in the boys eyes "…was it because he knew about me?"

Aarch gave what he hoped was a sympathetic smile that wasn't too obvious "I'm sure it wasn't because of you" Aarch jumped as Micro-Ice shot up and glared at him.

"How would you know?!" He yelled, tears now streaming down his face. "My mom and dad get together and they're perfectly happy, I come into the picture and my dad hightails it before I'm even born! You do the math!" He yelled, slamming his fist onto the green, semi-transparent field.

Aarch stared at Micro-Ice in shock, he could see it in his eyes, the pain, the sorrow, the anger, all the things he had been keeping bottled up for all these years and now he was letting it all out!

"It was me…it was always…me" Micro-Ice said, his voice breaking and then he began to sob miserably.

This was too much! Aarch couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Without thinking twice he got up and pulled the young boy against his chest for a hug, he definitely needed it right now! He was expecting the boy to push him away but instead he felt him clinging to the sides of his jersey as he unloaded his heartache! The two stood like that for a while, the only sound being Micro-Ice's muffled sobbing as Aarch did his best to console him, rubbing and patting his back with one hand while his other hand ran through his hair.

Micro-Ice didn't know what he was doing right now, he had so many thoughts going through his head right now that he couldn't think straight and could only act on instincts as he allowed Aarch to hold him in his comforting embrace. He had no idea why he had told Aarch all he had, maybe it was just because he needed to tell someone of his pent up feelings and Aarch just happen to be there when it all reached it's boiling point, either way it was making him feel a lot better he felt like a large weight was being lifted off of him with each tear and Aarch's comforting gesture's also helped.

The strikers cries eventually died down to soft hiccups and his grip on Aarch's jersey, he stood where he was for a moment, trying to think of a way to apologize to Aarch for his outburst but before he could utter a word he felt Aarch place both hands on the sides of his head and gently pulled him away.

"Now listen Micro-Ice and you listen good" Aarch said, his voice and expression both gentle and firm. "YOU are not the reason your father left"

"How would you possibly know that?" Micro-Ice sniffled as Aarch used his thumbs to wipe away the last of the tears that slid out of his eyes.

"I don't know but I know you and he didn't, if he had he would have stayed" Aarch's words were sincere, reassuring and made Micro-Ice believe him "You are an optimistic, funny and caring young man who is always able to put a smile on your friends faces and never give up when the odds are against you, I for one would have been proud to call you my son and if your father couldn't have stuck around for that then it's his loss and he isn't worth a single one of your tears" He finished, wiping away one more tear from the boys cheek.

Micro-Ice thought he would start crying all over again but Aarch's words put something in his heart that made it beat with more vigour than ever before! That was just what he had needed.

"Thank you Aarch" Micro-Ice said with every ounce of gratitude he could muster through his smile.

"There's no need to thank me Micro-Ice, it's the responsibility of the coach to give his players advice and assurance" Aarch smiled, ruffling the boys hair.

The two stood like that for a while, beaming at each other, one out of gratitude and one out of satisfaction for being to help the other.

"Right!" Aarch suddenly exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Lets see if you can get one more past me!" He grinned, jogging back over to the ball and kicking it to the raven haired striker.

"I hope you're ready for this old man" Micro-Ice smirked, his cocky attitude now completely restored.

"Cheeky brat!" Aarch laughed as said brat came at him like a stampeding bull before breaking to the left only to feel Aarch's broad arm block his way.

"What the…hey?!" Micro-Ice gasped as suddenly found himself being swept off his feet and hoisted over his coach's rock hard shoulder.

"How's this for an old man?" Aarch chuckled as he casually walked to the goal post, casually juggling the ball between his feet and keeping Micro-Ice secured over his shoulder.

"Aarch! You're cheating!" Micro-Ice laughed, kicking his feet and playing pelting Aarch's back.

"True, if this were an official match I probably would have got my whole team disqualified for this little stunt but since this isn't an official match I have nothing to worry about!" Aarch smirked as he kicked the ball into the goal. "Looks like I win this round" He chuckled, letting Micro-Ice slide off of his shoulder.

"I want a rematch!" Micro-Ice demanded playfully.

"Another time Mice, it's getting late now" Aarch chuckled.

"Yeah, It's almost dinner time and mom is really particular about me being on time for dinner" Micro-Ice nodded as the simulator de-activated.

"Take a quick shower first, I don't think your mother would appreciate you coming home stinking of sweat" Aarch chuckled, giving the boy a playful pat on the back.

"You got a point there" Micro-Ice muttered, giving one of his pits a sniff and grimacing in disgust. "Thanks Aarch, I needed this and I don't just mean a shower" He laughed softly before going serious again. "I needed all of this"

Aarch placed his hand once again on Micro-Ice's head "It was my pleasure, just come and find me if you ever need another pick-me-up or if you just have some spare time and want a little extra practi-oof!" Aarch grunted and looked down to see Micro-Ice with his arms around his sides and smiling up at him with that same happy, carefree smile that he was best known for.

"I mean it Aarch, thank you" He smiled and then gave a cheeky smile. "Oh and you might also want to take a shower too, you're smelling a little ripe yourself" 

"You cheeky little pup! Come 'ere!" Aarch exclaimed as he spun the boy around and began spidering his fingers along his ribs causing him to burst out into a fit of laughs and giggles brought on by he tickle attack and his own quip!

"Nooohoooo!" Micro-Ice laughed, trying to wiggle free from the mans grasp.

"Say uncle and I might just let you go" Aarch smirked as he continued to tickle the Striker.

"Okay! Uncle! Uncleheheheh!" Micro-Ice laughed after several moments of failing to wiggle free.

"That's more like it" Aarch chuckled finally letting the raven haired boy go before he choked. "Now march into that shower room and cleaned up!"

"Okay Aarch" Micro-Ice laughed and headed to the locker room to get cleaned up while Aarch did some stretching a groaned, his age catching up to him, he may be aching for a while but it was worth it to make micro-Ice smile.

Micro-Ice took one last look over his shoulder and gave him another grateful smile, today he woke up feeling as low as low could be but now he was ending it with shine in his heart and for that he could not thank Aarch enough.

 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed, happy Fathers day ^_^**


End file.
